Manganese Pneumonitis
1946; BMJ; Volume: 3; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1136/oem.3.3.111
ISSN1470-7926
Autores Tópico(s)Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity
ResumoCLINICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Manganese dioxide (MnO2) or pyrolusite is mined in Norway, Germany, India, Russia, Brazil and the Gold Coast.Manganese dioxide is employed in the manufacture of manganese steel, in the dry battery industry, for the colouring and bleaching of glass, and in the chemical industry.Basic slag contains about 10 per cent. of manganese. LiteratureThough Brezina (1921) reported that 5 out of 10 men working in a pyrolusite mill had died of pneumonia after working 2, 6, 3, 1 and 2 months, Baader (1932) was the first to ascribe to manganese the high incidence of pneumonia amongst workers making dry battery cells.Elstad (1939) observed a great increase in pneumonia among the inhabi- tants of Sauda, a small town in Norway, after the opening of works where manganese alloys are smelted.The mortality for pneumonia in Sauda was ten times greater than for the rest of Norway, and in Elstad's opinion was due to the pall of smoke, containing manganese dust, overhanging the town.Buttner (1939) observed that men working in a Rhenish pyrolusite mine suffered an average pneu- monia rate, for the years 1934-37 inclusive, of 17 (range 8-25) per thousand (with an average death rate of 6-3 per thousand).As a control group he examined the experiences of the Leipzig Local Sick Fund whose male members had a pneumonia rate of 0-54 per thousand.In Buttner's opinion the death rate was due to a mild silicosis which by fibrosis paved the way for the pneumonic process.The Giessen pyrolusite ore contains 17 per cent.manganese, 20 per cent.iron and 20 per cent.silicic acid, which probably accounts for the silicotic process observed by Buttner.III
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